HOUGHTON, Mich. - The Lake Superior State hockey program (1-6-2, 0-2-1 CCHA) earned a shootout victory over the Michigan Tech Huskies (5-3-2, 1-2-2 CCHA) for their first two points in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association standings on Friday after junior goaltender Ethan Langenegger (Kamloops, B.C.) had one of the best performances of his career between the pipes with 40 saves.

Both defenses kept the game scoreless in the opening period, but there was no lack of opportunities for both teams with Langenegger keeping the Lakers in the game with 15 saves going into the first intermission. 

The scoreless drought would end shortly after coming back onto the ice as Ryland Mosley received credit for an unassisted goal 90 seconds into the second period after a save from Langenegger took an unlucky bounce off of a Laker player back into the net, but sophomore forward Dawson Tritt (Spokane, Wash.) would knot the score back up at 1-1 with his fourth goal of the season less than a minute later after being set up by Jordan Venegoni (Livonia, Mich.) and Jake Willets (Monroe, Mich.). The defenses would lock back in for the remainder of the period, including the Lakers fending off a four-minute double-minor penalty that required multiple gutsy blocks from captain Louis Boudon (Grenoble, France). However, the Huskies were able to take the lead with a goal from Jed Pietila with just over a minute left before the second intermission.

The Lakers stepped up their attack in the third period, searching for any opportunity they could find to break through the stout defense of the Huskies, and at the 14:04 mark, they would find the golden chance that they needed as sophomore Timo Bakos (Augsburg, Germany) found the back of the net with help from Willets and alternate captain Jack Jeffers (Oakville, Ont.). 

Both teams would then find themselves deadlocked at 2-2 at the end of regulation, and after both defenses allowed one combined shot attempt in the five-minute overtime period, a shootout would be required to decide who would get the second point in the CCHA standings.

Bakos was up first for the Lakers, but the October CCHA Goaltender of the Month Blake Pietila stood firm. The Huskies were able to convert on their first attempt to apply pressure to the Lakers, but Boudon was unfazed by the moment, converting on the Lakers' second attempt. Langenegger held his ground on the Huskies' second attempt, and senior Logan Jenuwine (Romeo, Mich.) gave the Lakers the advantage in the best of three shootout. It would all come down to Langenegger, and he deflected Michigan Tech's third and final attempt away from the net to secure the shootout victory.

Langenegger earned the much deserved first star of the game after his 40 save performance in a contest that the Lakers were outshot 42-21. Willets also had a solid outing for the Lakers with a two-point performance that resulted in him being named the third star of the game. Meanwhile Boudon and Arvid Henrikson (Stockholm, Sweden) put their bodies on the line to take some of the pressure off of their goaltender with each recording three blocks. 

The Lakers will look to close out the series against the Huskies with a win on Saturday, Nov. 12 with the first puck drop scheduled for 6:07 p.m.